Howard Hughes 1-B / H-1

Howard Hughes was a millionaire who loved airplanes. He made movies about airplanes and often bought airplanes to fly on his own.

"Howard," a friend finally told him, "you'll never be satisfied until you build your own." So he built the Hughes 1-B racer, better known as the H-1. He wanted to build the fastest plane in the world. In 1937 it flew nonstop from Burbank, California, to New Jersey's Newark Airport in 7 hours 28 minutes.